Ed Sheeran’s secret weapon at the Brit Awards? The Roland LX-17!

While watching last night’s Brit Awards, we spotted something very interesting during Ed Sheeran’s performance. And no, we’re not here to conspire about the meaning of the ring, and we also don’t really mind Elton John mispronouncing Ed’s name, that was pretty funny. We really just want to talk about the music and his performance, because we love doing a bit of instrument-spotting during televised gigs.

So, Ed Sheeran took the stage, and we were expecting his signature Martin, and the sound of ‘dum-dum-dum, dum-dum-dum, something-about-the-shape-of-you…’ But what we actually ended up getting was Britain’s biggest pop star performing a heartfelt raw ballad… without his guitar. A bold move from Mr Sheeran (or is it Shirran now?), but armed with a secret weapon, it worked amazingly.

At the start of ‘Supermarket Flowers’, his vocals were accompanied only by soft and gentle piano notes, the kind that are just instant goosebump-fodder. So needless to say, the performance immediately had our full attention. We had to wait about a minute before getting to see a glimpse of Ashton Mirana, the piano player. So while we patiently waited, turned the volume up and intensively listened out for clues that might give away what piano he would be playing, the camera panned towards that polished ebony, shining so brightly it would have mirrored Earth’s reflection if it was in orbit. And within that instant, our suspicions were confirmed: We’re looking at a Roland LX-17, an exceptional Roland digital piano. Wow!

As you might know, we’ve really got a thing for the Roland LX17, so we were beyond excited to see it in action on a stage. It’s inspiring to see how well the piano suits the part of standing on a stage alongside a superstar. This is the same piano that is an affordable livingroom centrepiece in so many homes. Now we’ve seen that that same piano can also really own an arena, and is the choice of a multi-platinum popstar. Very, very cool!

We also think it says something that Ed Sheeran picked the LX17, even though his budget could have allowed him to pick anything the world has to offer. Nice one, Ed Sheeran!

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